Day - 03
We started our day late around 9 a.m. the next day. It was 'Vinayaka Chaturthi'. Felt lucky to have spotted this huge Ganesh statue on our way and I have done my prayers in a means time.
After a sumptuous breakfast at the 'Vithal Kamat' food court on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, we bifurcated from towards the Mulshi road to reach the foot of the Tikona fort.
We had stopped by for a small picture on our way when the road got a little wider.
The drive continued through the lush green fields and the deserted narrow bridges which was in fact very scenic.
Having spotted a beautiful site at the Pawna dam, we drove down into the narrow fields to explore more and get a better panoramic view of the beautiful site.
Finally, this was the picture we had been wanting to get and mission accomplished.
All the members cheered up for a fabulous capture at the site.
We continued our drive further towards the Tikona fort.
As we climbed up the ghat, we were enjoying the beautiful scenic view of the Pawna lake in the background.
We reached the base of the Tikona fort by 11 a.m., parked our cars and the trek up the fort was all set as the showers had taken no break to pour on us.
All the cheerful team who had been energetic throughout the trek up and down.
We got drenched thoroughly by the time we had reached the top of the fort and a group snap. Cheers!
We spent there for about 30 mins on the top of the fort and waited for the clouds to get cleared. Hence, is the view from the top.
Getting down the fort, the drive was all set to reach the 'Pawna dam'
We felt glad to have experienced this place when all the gates were opened. Thanks to those heavy showers throughout the drive.
Getting done for the day, we moved back to our hotel as it got dark.

We started to move towards Doddabetta peak which is known as the highest peak in the Southern part of India.
Drive towards Doddabetta peak was awesome as we have experienced different types of climatic conditions right from sunny to rainy.
This place turned out to be a true commercial spot which seemed very crowded at the top of the hill. As the fog got cleared, this is one beautiful vista of the Nilgiris form the hill top.
Last picture of the day at the top of the peak, we had set back to our stay early by 9:00 p.m. as we have got a hectic drive lined up for the next morning.
We have started off by 4 in the morning from Ooty towards Bandipur for the safari.
As we got on to the ghat, the sky has offered us a magnificent view of the sunrise. No morning can get better than this sight to me.
We got stopped at the check point on the ghat, before we entered into the wild forest zone as was closed and we had to wait at the gate until we got a signal about the road being cleared. It got opened at 6:00 a.m.
We have reached the Bandipur Forest safari gate by 7:00 a.m. and booked our safari slots for 7:30 a.m. The price per head for the forest safari in the bus was 300 INR.
Standing tall on the head, the wild vulture was overlooking at the forest ground.
We have also spotted a lot of these grey faced Langoors.
A furry mongoose, I wonder if it was wandering in search of snakes.
The female Sambar deers always look confused to me. They are undoubtedly huge when compared to the normal deers.
Mother and the fawn.
And a lot more of these deers.
A group of peahens.
A herd of 'Great Indian Elephants' taking a break at the lake amidst the forest.
It was 9:00 a.m. by the time our forest safari got done and we then, started our drive back to Hyderabad taking breaks at regular intervals for food.
We have reached home by 11:00 p.m.
Over all, It wouldn't have been a lively trip without a great company!
I would like to thank @sagar for being so generous in offering me a ride and also my co-passengers @Kashyap @Sug @charan89 for putting up with me throughout the drive :P. Each and every member's actions & help will definitely have a profound effect on me for sure and I have got a lot to learn from everyone of you. Though we have parted ways in the end, our paths have aligned, memories are woven and crossed each other's minds. This is just the beginning and I am sure that I am in for one Hell'uva time with you all in more of such trips. Thanks to the admins for organising such a wonderful road trip and I am looking forward for more. May the 'Driving spirit' be with you all. Cheers!

After we got settled at our stay, we then moved towards exploring Coonoor which is about 25 kms from our stay. Monsoon hitting this place quite early this year added more beauty to our eyes.
We stopped by 'The Grange' hotel for lunch on our way to Coonoor. This is one place in Ooty which offered good food along with ample parking space which was observed to be quite rare in a place like Ooty.
Proceeding further, we have explored Coonoor and halted at the 'Highfields Tea Factory' which is 50 years old. We have had the opportunity know how the history of the Tea Factory and its process. We had also tasted the samples of all the variety of Tea they grow followed by some shopping
While we have explored whole of this Tea estate
A group pic of the whole crew before the day ended
Getting back to Zero after our dinner, we had some great fun over the bonfire and some interactive games under the stars. This session was then followed by some night photography and star gazing.
A sight at the night sky was so splendid and we had no option but to get lost in the tranquillity of nature.
Cool breeze, Night sky, Innumerable stars and the best people around.. Explains it all!
Day - 3 : Ooty - Avalanche - Emerald - Doddabetta peak - Ooty
The next morning, After our breakfast at 'The Grange' hotel, we have started to pace up towards the Avalanche.
The drive towards Avalanche was one of the best I've been to as it had offered some best roads having best of the scenic views throughout with Tea plantations and step farming all around.
Road to Avalanche as we got closer deteriorated but the drive was still fun as the road led us into a forest.
The entry at the Avalanche got closed by the time we reached as the slots were full for that day and this is the best view of the lake we could capture midway.
We then moved towards the Avalanche dam and the Emerald dam which still remained closed due to the construction and piping work at the Dam.
We decided to Explore the place and drive down to Doddabetta.
Every bit of this drive has offered some best sceneries.
No wonder Ooty is called 'The Queen of hill stations'.
We had stopped by one of the best view points on our way to admire and cherish the beauty nature was offering us.
All of us got involved in clicking some pictures at this stop
A small village engulfed between the beautiful Tea estates.

Day - 2 : Continued..
The Bandipur forest reserve welcomed us as we moved up the ghat.
The drive through the forest over such neatly laid tracks has been an absolute bliss.
Every bit of the drive through this section has been more than worthy while we had experienced the spotting of wildlife in frequent intervals throughout
We have spotted a huge herd of deer en-route not just once but many a times throughout this track.
Burning the rubber onto the smooth tarmac while clicking some scenic views until we finished the drive has been out-rightly eventful and a memory worth recollecting.
One of those many herds we spotted.
One from a herd of wild boars..
The open forest road opens up to stock up for the monsoon coming ahead.
One of the many peacocks we spotted.
The winding forest road opened up to offer us a newer view of the ghat we were going to take.
A super scenic view of the ghat we were heading at..
Our timely delays at the breakfast point and stops for the photo sessions caused delay in being available for the safari on time and so we decided to do the forest safari on our way back from Ooty in the next 2 days from then. (Note: Timings for the morning safari is available only between 6:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. And price is 300 INR/head)
We have taken a short break amidst the forest road to stretch ourselves and breathe in some fresh air.
Splendid view of the ghat as we got closer.
We had taken the 36 hairpin ghat to reach Ooty which was super scenic offering the views at its best
We have reached Ooty before 12:00 p.m. and moved towards our stay which was engulfed amidst the tea plantations away from the town in an offbeat site.
The route to reach our stay has been quite an off road track which has added more adventurous fun to the drive and Yes, the Polo has managed to do this track
Beautiful vistas of the tea plantations from our stay

Day - 1 : Hyderabad to Mysuru
All the members attending the drive have assembled at the start point by 4:00 a.m. and the drive kicked-off by 4:15 a.m. after a brief introductory session about the rules and the convoy positions during the drive.
Following the respective convoy positions, we raced on to the ORR towards Kurnool to take our stop for breakfast.
The usual way of how we regroup at every Toll exit until all the cars line-up to continue the drive further.
We had stopped by the Hotel Suraj Grand for breakfast. The food at this place was pretty good with decent ambience.
After a sumptuous meal, our drive commenced towards the next stop at Bangalore.
Running under the defined speed limit, we never missed to fall out of this convoy. Being a part of this group for my first long drive, this factor has amazed me to a certain extent.
We had reached Bangalore to stop by for Lunch around 1:00 p.m. The ambience and food at this place was decent.
Having taken quite a long break at lunch, we started our drive towards Mysuru around 3:00 p.m.
We have reached Mysuru around 7:30 p.m. to halt for the night. The Dawn hotel in Mysuru was pretty good for a night stay with an exclusive restaurant attached which served us dinner for the night.
Day 1 has turned out to be an eventful fun drive where I happened to meet some amazing travel enthusiasts and true petrol heads.
Day - 2 : Mysuru - Bandipur - Mudumalai - Ooty - Coonoor
Our drive was scheduled to start by 5:30 a.m. towards Ooty with a stop at Bandipur for the forest safari.
We had stopped by a deserted road en-route for a short photo session post breakfast.
Everyone of us got involved in bagging some memories through clicks and poses for a while.
And then, our drive towards Bandipur continues...

@sagar Bro, the credit goes to you & other admins who chalked a wonderful plan to make sure that we visit "this" place and get "inspired" to take some photos. No matter how best your gear is or how skilled the person is, the "place" is the single important aspect,which decides your photography output. I should thank all those guys who have patiently lent their time & ears to my rookie chatter about the "game of rays"(photography). I hope to share that knowledge on what all I know, to you in coming meets. Hope that the "Dream" of the members to indulge in a self "Driven" path, to "Discover" the ultimate frontiers come true. Do not forget to buckle-up !! Stay safe!
Regards
Omkar